Infant Mortality

Infant Mortality

Each year in Franklin County, 150 babies die before their first birthday. And, twice as many
African-American babies are likely to die as white children.

In Columbus, these deaths are
concentrated in neighborhoods in which there are lower levels of income,
education and health. One of our neighborhoods loses four times as many babies
as in the neighborhood next door.

This is a community crisis, and
has been addressed as such. In 2013,
the Greater Columbus Infant Mortality Task Force was commissioned, a diverse and
knowledgeable panel to study why our infants are dying, and what we can do
about it.

In 2014,
with a group of dedicated partners, Columbus launched the CelebrateOne initiative,
prioritizing those neighborhoods where infant mortality rates are the highest
and where we can have the greatest impact to save young lives.

In
Linden, the Near South Side, the Near East Side, the Hilltop, Franklinton, the
Northeast, the Southeast, and in Northland, we are working to educate, engage
and enlist residents as advocates and ambassadors on this issue.

Our goal
by 2020 and one of the most aggressive in the country: to reduce infant
mortality by 40 percent and to cut the health disparity gap in half.